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“Truly, you are a God who hides himself…….”
- Isaiah 45:15
I have known more than a few “know-it-alls” in my life: persons whose lack of humility gives birth to a form of arrogance that reinforces the illusion of their supreme intellect. I have not only known such people, but I have also engaged them in some friendly, and not so friendly, debates. At times these debates turned into mere foolishness because I found out that the “know-it-alls” not only have a hard time admitting defeat, but they also have enormous difficulty uttering those three words that are like kryptonite to their ego: I don’t know.
For know-it-alls, the phrase “I don’t know,” is like an admission of weakness or even some form of defeat. It is the primordial white flag waved on the battlefield of cerebral warfare. But for me, these words have proven to be quite comforting and have alleviated me of any temptation to suggest I know everything. Truthfully, admitting any level of ignorance in our culture can be unsettling when our society seems to be consumed with both “knowing” and unwilling to affirm the necessity of ambiguity and mystery. Daily advancements in information technology and the accessibility of a plethora of information make it difficult to accept that there are things that are unknowable. In fact, ambiguity and mystery are viewed as intolerable foes for those who place preeminence on certainty and absolutes.
This may be why the idea of God being a mystery is problematic to a “culture of knowers.” Many believe that God is nothing more than a term to be defined, a concept to be nuanced, or a theory to be tested; but God is none of these things. The prophet Isaiah declared, “Truly, you are a God who hides himself.” For those who loathe living with complexities and unanswered questions, a hidden God is offensive; and it this offensiveness that pushes us to a place where the only peace experienced comes when we feel like we know and understand God. But God cannot be known by the mechanisms of our human intellect, nor can God be reduced to words that are the constructions of our limited language.
True joy in life does not come from trying to completely understand or know God; true joy comes in the experience of being known by God. The words of Samir Selmanovic ring true, “We are unable to grasp God, even as we are being transformed by God’s grasp.” No matter how grand our attempts are at trying to get a grip on God, we do not grasp God: God grasps us. Perhaps, the best of our energies should be used in experiencing God, rather than trying to thoroughly understand and know God. God is…………………
Peace and Blessings,
Pastor Mike